Return to Labyrinthia
by chloemcg
Summary: Phoenix, Maya, Apollo, Athena and Trucy go to London in order to visit Labyrinthia and is accompanied by Professor Layton, his three-year-old daughter Katrielle, and 18-year-old Luke for a jolly holiday. But when they arrive it turns out that they have to face a foe who has somehow managed to slip behind the scenes and threatens not the very future of Labyrinthia.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

"Thank you! Thank you all so much for everything!"

"Espella, you take care now!"

"You too, Mr. Cantabella, bye!"

"Be sure to visit us again!"

"You can bet on it!"

"I wish all of you the very best!"

The collectedly faint calls of farewell carried across the gentle breeze of morning, like a ship sailing on to the sea and, even though those words were exclaimed what had felt like hours ago, they were as fresh as though they were spoken seconds ago.

They were words that stuck in the minds of every single citizen that had inhabited Labyrinthia.

Those words were stuck in the minds of Espella Cantabella, her father the Storyteller (AKA Arthur Cantabella), and Eve Belduke.

Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton, Luke Triton and Maya Fey had did it —they solved the mysteries of Labyrinthia and unravelled the lot of them, nobody could have been more happier that they had rescued the town from destruction caused by huge misunderstandings and for doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

It filled all involved with a massive sense of euphoria.

They were happy to make a start on rebuilding their lives for the better.

No hypnosis, no lies.

The sun was started to rise in the horizon and clouds were starting to appear, the ocean waves were rolling about as calmly as could be. The sunrise had never looked so spectacular as daybreak hit like a hard smack to the face and the gentle warmth of the rays of sunlight touched all of the town of Labyrinthia, as far as they were concerned it was the most beautiful sunrise they had ever seen collectively.

A magical scene indeed.

Not even young Espella could take her eyes off of the amazing view for quite some time.

When the group of four on Barnham's newly-acquired motorboat were finally out of sight, Espella turned to her father with a curious look in her eyes.

"Daddy? Are things around here going to change?"

The old man nodded his head, a kind-hearted smile crossing his face as he glanced down at his teenaged daughter.

"Yes. Things are most definitely going to change around here."

Everyone looked at the Storyteller (or, rather, "former" Storyteller) with slight apprehension when those words reached their ears.

They couldn't help but wonder what sort of changes will be made, what will change? Will this place evolve just like the rest of the world? They had to assume so, so this town could stop being a lie and secret to the world, yet they still didn't feel too comfortable with the idea, especially as the townspeople of Labyrinthia had only just started to regain their memories of what they used to be before becoming essentially lab rats in this town.

Yes, they were slightly resistant to trying new things but they also knew that if they wished to get used to their new way of life then there needed to be changes.

Arthur Cantabella looked smilingly at his citizens as he announced with a warm and friendly undertone in his voice, making him interact with his townspeople more then he ever had during his time as the man whom allegedly made all his written work become a reality.

"And I shall need your assistance to do so. Will you all be so kind as to lend a helping hand to restore our town and make it a town worth remembering?"

He looked over the citizens who had been through years of hypnosis, whose lives he had changed forevermore, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride resonate deep within his heart. Each and everyone of them looked back at him with this smile that filled his heart with glee to have worked with each and every single one of them.

Within seconds of the former Storyteller asking that question of his citizens, they all unanimously replied with great enthusiasm:

"YES!"

Arthur felt great joy in being associated with all these great people and he even felt a tear well up in his left eye as he sniffled. He didn't even realise it was there until he felt a small hand raise itself up to brush that tear away when it started to cascade down his cheek and he couldn't help but glance over at the person who owned said hand.

It was Espella.

She smiled supportively at her father.

He smiled lovingly back at her.

Then he looked back at the village folk of Labyrinthia and raised his voice in annunciation.

"You have my thanks! NOW, LET US BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR LABYRINTHIA!"

His exclamation was met with a choir of cheers and clamours.

What nobody knew was that there was a hidden character concealing himself in the shadows nearby.

The mysterious figure peeled away from of the pitch black hood of the hooded cloak he wore, making himself visible temporarily, to conceal his face as well as his identity and one could easily have guessed that he was one of the Shades that used to work under Eve Belduke, or did until mere hours ago. The only difference that set this person apart from any of the others was the white mask he wore to cover his face even more.

The mysterious figure was tall and slender and he concealed his face in the shadows of daybreak.

He was not a new face in Labyrinthia but he wasn't anyone whom anybody would recognise either.

The disguised man looked on, peering around a corner of a building near the docks where everyone stood, and watched the scene unfold in front of him. He heard everything and an unseen devilish smirk crossed upon his lips as he nodded his head in agreement to the Storyteller's words, a perfect plan shaping in his mind.

"Oh, this town is about to change alright...into my personal toy box."

He put his cloak back on himself once again, rendering himself totally invisible once more, and then slipped into the darkness of the shadows whilst a sinister chuckle slipped from his throat as he vanished from sight.

He was to work behind the scenes until the time was right, to put his plans into action.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, everyone.**

**I had decided to make a reboot of my original sequel idea because, quite honestly, I do believe that I could make some improvements to it so thats what I had decided to do.**

**This prologue takes place after the game.**

**The rest of this story takes place after AA Dual destinies — before AA SOJ for Ace attorney and some time that takes place in the Katrielle Layton anime known as "Layton mystery tanteisha katri no nazotoki file" (watch episode 20 to understand).**

**I have the story mapped out so I will have the second chapter out soon.**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

**-Chloemcg**


	2. Chapter 1: Preparation

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

_8 years later..._

"C'mon! Clooooose!"

Phoenix stuffed some clothing in his suitcase.

He kept both of his arms pushing down as hard as they could and his face twisted in determination as he continued to press down on the lid. The muscles in his arms strained and stretched as he poured every ounce of effort into each and every push and shove he gave to try and successfully get his suitcase to close. He could feel sweat trickle down his face and neck as he continued the effort.

He had been trying for minutes at a time to close his stupid suitcase that sat on the top of his bed.

He clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes shut as he continued to try and close his suitcase.

_Click._

Phoenix mentally cried out in victory when he heard that click and he relaxed his strained arm muscles. Finally he got his blue aluminum suitcase closed, which was packed to the brim with clothes and other assortment of holiday items (like toiletries and stuff for example) that was threatening to burst open the second he let it.

He had been through a lot after losing his beloved attorneys badge.

He had adopted a young magician named Trucy, then started living as a lazy layabout for seven years. It was after this that he had mentoring a young man named Apollo Justice who had the unique power to detect lies with his trusty bracelet and his special vision. After a year of having Apollo employed under him, he started helping and then hiring a young lady named Athena Cykes who had the power to hear the emotions in people's hearts, was an expert in analytical psychology and helped people with the help of her trusted gadget (necklace) Widget.

It had been so long since then...

Not only that but it had been eight long years since he had last been to Labyrinthia (or maybe seven, considering he spent Christmas there once) and it had also been a long time since he had last met up with Professor Layton over in London England.

Now he thought it was finally time to change that.

He had decided that it was time to return to Labyrinthia for a holiday, and reunite with Professor Layton and Luke too!

Trucy was in the sitting room already, packing her own suitcase, and merely watched as Phoenix strode out of his bedroom and started to carry his heavy luggage out the door. She got up when she saw him and started to follow, scooping up her own bag into her arms.

The father and daughter pair were quickly intercepted by none other than Athena.

The nineteen-year-old young woman wearing yellow seemed to take notice of the bags her employer was carrying in his arms and her sapphire blue eyes lit up like fireworks when she seemed to realise that he was about to go out somewhere.

"Where are you guys going, boss?" She asked.

Phoenix and Trucy regarded the red and yellow clad lawyer with a single conflicted gaze.

"We're going to London."

Athena's eyes widened in their sockets as she looked at the two as though she was doing a spectacularly good goldfish impression. Her mind was spinning with a multitude of questions but the main ones that stuck in the forefront of her mind consisted of these:

London?

Mr. Wright and Trucy were going on a holiday to London England?

How come?

Why were they going and she nor Apollo were?

Why were they being left behind?

That wasn't even fair!

"But boss! Why can't we come!?"

Phoenix crossed his arms across his chest and eyed his students with a hint of a smirk pulling on his lips. The blue clad attorney with the jet black spiky hair couldn't help but tease his protégés a bit as he saw it as his obligation since he _was _their boss and he wanted to take full advantage of it.

"Because I said so, Athena."

Athena caught on to that instantly and started to clasp her hands together in a begging gesture.

Apollo had latched on to the conversation by now and decided to join in on the begging.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease take us with you, Mr. Wright!"

Phoenix scratched the top of his head, a playful glint shimmering in his eyes as he decided to taunt both Athena and Apollo for a bit. He loved to screw around with them and loved flaunting his position as "boss" around as much as possible, he loved taking advantage of it any second possible.

"Oh, I dunno...someone _has _to stay here and keep an eye out for new clients."

Apollo and Athena were clasping their hands while making their eyes as big as possible, clearly trying to overthrow his better sense by playing on his sympathies. Their lower lips were sticking out and trembling as they both tried for their best "puppy dog" faces.

Phoenix still pretended to think it over, though, and he eventually sighed in fake defeat.

"Oh, okay, okay, enough with the puppy dog eyes! You guys can come!"

Apollo and Athena jumped for joy as Athena giggled giddily whilst Apollo pumped his fist triumphantly and hissed out a joyful "Yesssss!" beneath his breath.

"But!" The Ace attorney in blue added on, making sure to amplify his voice to catch their attention, only smirking deviously when he did so. "You have to clean the toilets again!"

The redhead attorney in yellow moaned as she dashed off in the direction of the bathroom to do her job while Apollo stayed behind for a sec to scowl at his boss. His signature twin thorns of hair bristled and he shot dark daggers with his eyes as he twisted his face into a huffy scowl.

"You are so evil, Mr. Wright..."

Phoenix nodded.

"I know I am. Now get going."

Apollo just sighed as he chased after his work colleague.

Phoenix chuckled rather evilly as he announced, strutting back over towards his office.

"I'm gonna go and text Maya and ask her to meet us on the flight to England."

His response was a few low grumbles coming from the bathroom.

The spiky-haired ace attorney couldn't put into words how much he _loved _being the boss and he also loved the perks that came with said position, of course he took his responsibility very seriously but he also loved milking it whenever he would get the chance.

Trucy smiled jovially.

Her arms were full as she was still carrying her big blue suitcase that was stuffed with a large assortment of stuff such as magicians items and capes and spare clothes. She kept her balance well and her blue cape flowed behind her, her shoulders were bunched up.

"Hey, daddy! Are you all ready to go?" She asked.

Phoenix nodded his head.

"Yup. I got Apollo and Athena tickets too, I don't want to leave the agency unattended but I don't wanna leave 'em outta this."

The young teenage magician nodded her head at her adopted father in agreement and grinned.

"Yay! The more the merrier!"

With that, Apollo was breathless and panting but he came rushing back into the room with a giddy little smirk as he bounced on the spot. He was _radiating _with this enthusiastic energy that seemed rather uncharacteristic of him —he was normally pretty sarcastic and stuff but he must have been really excited.

Athena followed soon after, she had a gleeful look too.

Phoenix handed the two their own individual plane tickets and smiled warmly at them both.

"Okay, I'd say you guys earned a vacation! Get your bags packed and your affairs in order because you're going with us to London and then to a special place!"

Apollo's giddy smile was replaced with one of utter confusion as he tilted his head to one side and stared at Phoenix with a perplexed expression etched upon his face. He was happy to be going on holiday with the people he cared about and worked with but he also couldn't help but feel like there was a surprise in store.

He frowned so hard that his facial muscles hurt.

"Where's that special place? Where? Please tell us...!"

Phoenix answered question with a mischievous glint shimmering in his deep blue eyes.

"Let's just say...that it's a place you won't find on any map."

* * *

_**Meanwhile in London...**_

Professor Hershel Layton tinkered away at his desk, his magnifying glass focused on a particular fossil that rested on the mahogany desk in his wake.

The artifact had apparently been discovered at the ruins of yet another historical set of underground ruins, something that he had uncovered the secret of not too long ago. He had just returned after solving another case that had involved the professor leaving for a few days but had returned just hours prior. His dot-like, cartoony eye had been enlarged thanks to the dodgy glass of his scope but it was still completely focused upon the interesting object that sat beneath the rather intimidating eye cast down upon its strangely-shaped markings.

This was a strange fossil.

It was kind of unique looking since it had been but at the top there was a random swirly shape at the bottom of it as it lain dormant on the table, useless to the world as of right now. The professor had been studying it eagerly, yearning to find out the secret behind it as he continued to examine each and every dent on the fossil marking at it as if finding something, anything, would make the earth itself shudder.

However, as Professor Layton's back was turned, a certain young man was already sorting through a stack of letters as he sat comfortably on the sofa.

In his youth, Luke had been the proud young apprentice of the professor and he currently sat huddled beneath a blanket that had been wrapped around his body, trying to keep warm from the cold air brewing outside.

Now Luke was eighteen-years-old.

No longer was he the adorable little 12-year-old.

He had been studying both zoology with a side of archeology (and a bit of karate) in America and had become a great student and, as always, he was a great student.

Sadly, though, he didn't get to come home very often but he did make frequent trips back to London on every occasion —especially after a _certain situation _he had faced a short three years ago made it possible for him to make more returns.

He wasn't complaining, though, since he loved coming over to lend a helping hand to his mentor.

The teenager hummed a merry little tune as his eyes shifted through the mail that sat on a nearby coffee table.

His fingers carefully flicked across the tops of each envelope until his eyes spotted a particular letter of interest. Luke quickly slipped the interesting letter out from its sandwiched position among the other less appealing letters and when he got a good look at this particular enveloped piece of parchment, his eyes brightened up like a light glowing in a pitch black abyss.

"Ah! Professor!" Luke exclaimed while waving the letter in the air like a flag.

The professor looked away from his work and towards his young apprentice with his brows raised in surprise "What is it, Luke?" he asked.

Luke jumped back down on the sofa and motioned with a quick tilt of his head for him to take a seat beside him too.

Professor Layton obliged.

"I think it's _the _letter!"

The English pair found themselves sat on the soft material of the sofa as the Professor had taken the letter from his apprentice's grip and tore open the envelope and removed the letter within with Luke peaking over his shoulder to also get a good look at the note meant for them. The professor grinned upon reading who the sender was "Well, well...This letter is, indeed, from our friends across the Atlantic!"

Luke smiled widely as he got more eager for his mentor to begin reading, hands pressed firmly against the soft cushioning of the sofa beneath them both and was actually showing the same enthusiasm that a child would have.

The Professor would have been lying if he had said that he didn't find this endearing in the slightest.

Without much hesitation, the professor began reading the letter.

The professor curtly tipped the rim of his top hat with a pleasant smile twisting the corners of his lips.

"It appears that we'll be having a few visitors."

The top-hat-wearing gentleman stood up from the sofa and began to walk back towards the desk with Luke staring after him in bewilderment of what was happening. Clearly the top hat wearing, puzzle-enthusiast and archeologist was hinting something to his former-apprentice and the young man didn't get the picture.

Luke practically sprang to his feet "You mean they accepted the invitation?"

The professor turned around to face Luke with a grin yet his dot-like eyes were narrowed in determination. He nodded his head in response to the question and he gave a happy swish of his hand, he was clearly pumped about what they were about to do and this arua of eagerness consumed the entire room and it was needless to say that Luke too was eager upon seeing that sharp smirk.

"Well, Luke, we are going to prepare for our friends arrival by tidying up. Get Flora here, I would like her to be here to meet Trucy, Mr. Wright and Miss Fey!"

Luke gave a ready grin and gave his mentor an army's salute "Alright, Professor!"

The Professor stopped for a moment and looked over at the young man again.

"Oh and Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Please make sure Katrielle is ready to meet our guests while I get a move on tidying up."

* * *

**A/N: ****Hi, guys!**

**Here's the second chapter I promised! **

**We see that there is a bit of a holiday story, with Phoenix and the Professor about to meet up. Of course Maya is going to be there —it would be a CRIME not to include her! And Katrielle is going to be included too and prepare for cute fluffiness ahead because I swear to make this adorable!**

**I hope you lot have been enjoying this so far.**

**Let me know if there is anything I can do to improve this.**

**-Chloemcg**


	3. Chapter 2: The reunion pt 1

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

Professor Layton stood up high on the square-shaped footing that was stuck atop a step ladder, fiddling with some banners as he tried to get the celebratory decorations hung up perfectly.

It was nearing sundown and the time of certain guests arrivals —something he was honestly looking forwards to.

Ever since receiving the letter informing the arrival of Phoenix Wright and company, the Professor and Luke had been working non-stop to clean everything thoroughly and to decorate the place. Everyone in the Layton office had been working ridiculously hard preparing it all for the in-coming visitors.

The Professor had been working incredibly hard since then and he was unwilling to give his work a rest —he hummed a merry tune while cleaning up the book shelves while whistling to accompany it, he had cleaned the place up and down with a feather duster and wasn't appearing to stop anytime soon.

He made sure each book was properly aligned in the shelf and that they were each shiny and well-polished for their incoming guests to see since if people were coming than they needed to prepare, especially for a special someone's birthday party. The Professor had Luke and his house maid, Rosa, bake some refreshments since Flora couldn't really cook anything without really making it a health hazard on a plate that the consumer would suffer with a horrible food poisoning...he couldn't tell his adopted daughter that, however.

Professor Layton stopped whistling whence something had caught his attention.

Jabbed in between a pair of books, a photograph was poking out. It was the corner of a photo that seemed to have been out of place.

He frowned and mumbled in confusion as he pinched two fingers on the edge of that untidy photograph and he pulled it out from its sandwiched position between the two random books and he gasped in recognition when he saw the image the picture had permanently stamped on the front; the photo depicted Phoenix, Luke, the Professor, Maya and a pair of young women —one with blonde hair and the other with dark purple hair— and they all looked happy as they posed for their photo.

It brought back happy memories...

* * *

After picking up Maya Fey from the village of Khura'in, the group of lawyers had booked their flight and made their way across the Atlantic Ocean to get to London England.

The flight over was long and seemed to drag on for what felt like an eternity for the Ace attorney crew, but they endured it and were more than thrilled when their plane had finally touched down at their destination.

Phoenix and Apollo were _especially _happy about it given their respective Acrophobia.

It didnt take too long until the group of attorneys, magician and spirit medium had found their way to Greensheller university where they located the office of Professor Hershel Layton —in other words, they had finally arrived at their destination. Upon entering the office with the distinctive brown top hat on the door, Phoenix nor Maya could believe how nothing had changed in Professor Layton's office but not without knocking first.

It felt eerily nostalgic to come back.

It looked just like how it looked the first time he and Maya visited a year after their initial adventure in Labyrinthia. The ace attorney group entered the office to find that Professor Layton was preoccupied with cleaning the bookshelf while there were some sounds originating from the other room (the kitchen, probably) and Apollo and Athena were both in awe as they glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Maya couldn't help but giggle.

"Somethings never change," She looked over to Phoenix with misty eyes "isn't that right, Nick?"

Phoenix nodded, completely agreeing with his friend.

"You're right, Maya."

"Mr. Wright! Ms. Fey!"

Phoenix blinked when he heard a deep but gentle voice call out to him and Maya. He knew that it had belonged to the young man wearing a bright blue fedora. He almost had to do a double take when he saw the teenager since he recognised him almost right away.

The last time Phoenix had seen this lad, said lad was about the same height as his waist.

"It's so good to see you!" Luke exclaimed warmly, tipping his fedora at the attorney in blue.

Maya laughed heartily as she walked up to and gave the younger gentleman a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Every time I see you, Luke, I swear you keep getting taller and taller!"

Luke chuckled brightly.

"Yes, Maya, and I bet I'll just keep at it!"

Luke turned to look over at Apollo, Athena and Trucy.

"And who are these lot, bar Trucy?"

Luke knew all about Trucy as he had met the magician before when she was quite a bit younger, the Professor had to look after her while Phoenix was studying law stuff in Europe during his time without his attorneys badge; granted he hadn't seen her for quite some time and this was the very first time he'd seen her but he had yet to have been introduced to the other two companions travelling with Phoenix, Maya and Trucy this time around.

Phoenix was more than happy to introduce them.

"Oh, right! This is Apollo Justice-" the spiky-haired lawyer pointed at Apollo and then pointed at Athena. "-and this is Athena Cykes. These guys are my ace apprentices, you could say."

"Hey, Luke!" Athena chirped.

"What's up?" Asked Apollo.

Luke broke off into a discussion with the two defence attorneys while Maya, in the meantime, had finally seemed to notice that the Professor had stood off to the side and was still cleaning up the room and was so enthralled with said cleaning that he had yet to notice his guests.

Maya grinned happily and gave a greeting bow that was much like one the Japanese would give.

She straightened up and gave the professor her trademark smirk as she winked in his direction.

"So what's with the ladder, Professor?" She asked.

Professor Layton didn't look back from his work but the dryness in his voice was clearly present as he fiddled, his back still turned upon the Ace attorney group.

"...Greetings to you as well, Miss Fey, but I must correct and inform you that this is a step ladder."

Maya grinned even further, a mischievous look on her face. She liked making this joke a lot and couldn't have been more happier that she and the others were back in England again. The first thing in business, though, was to make herself known in her jokey fashion.

She bounced on her feet, rocking back and forth on the balls of her heels as she done so.

"But you step on it like a ladder, shouldn't it be a ladder then?" She inquired.

Phoenix, meanwhile, sighed heavily.

He found it annoying that a lot of people didn't know the difference between the two clearly different ladders and he sometimes wondered whether or not Maya just called them ladders to annoy him but right now he was sure that the professor was questioning Maya's thought process right now, specially regarding ladders and step ladders

"I am afraid that you will not win, Professor, so _please_ don't question it at your own peril." He informed the preoccupied archeologist.

The gentleman wearing the top hat had decided to heed the lawyer in blue's advice since clearly he could tell that this he was very knowledgable about what he was speaking of. He finally fixed the banner and stepped down from the step ladder's A-frame and spun on his heel so he could turn around to show his face and he was, needless to say, very happy to see his old friend.

He approached the spiky-haired man with pure elation expressed in his grin.

He extended a hand out and shook Phoenix's hand warmly in their reintroduction.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Phoenix Wright."

Apollo, Athena and Trucy all smiled as they observed the scene unfolding in front of them.

It felt good to see both Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright reunite for this special occasion. It was actually enough to make the others grin at the sight as they all gathered around to witness the defense attorney and the professor of archeology/puzzle enthusiast shake hands once more.

Then the Professor turned his attention to Apollo and Athena; he gave a civil nod as a pleasant smile curled on his lips.

"It is nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Justice and Miss Cykes. Mr. Wright has told me all about you in his letters."

After Phoenix and Maya left to go back to their home in Japanifornia across the Atlantic Ocean, both the ace attorney and the puzzle-solving Professor had become pen pals and would write to one another continuously —especially when Phoenix had to drop Trucy off at Layton's so he could do his very important studies. Anyway, Phoenix made absolutely sure to keep the top-hatted gent up to date on the happenings and goings on in his life so he was more than thrilled to talk about both Apollo and Athena in his letters.

Apollo reached forwards, took the gentleman's outstretched hand and shook it vigorously.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Layton,"

"Just 'professor' will do, young man." The Professor tipped his hat curtly.

"Come. Lets get you all some tea, you must have had a long journey," He announced as he led the group that consisted of three attorneys, one magician and one Spirit medium into the dining area.

It was upon arriving into the dining area of the flat where they were met by a dainty young lady with bright orange hair and wearing a bright red bow in her hair. She wore a kindly expression on her face as she hummed a sweet little tune and made a couple of confections and was setting them all out on to the table in a nice little spread, they all looked scarcely edible. The spread consisted of a platter of sandwiches (of what filling they had, nobody knew), a jar of gingerbread cookies, a plate of scones as well as a crumpet here and there, a hefty-looking cake and a large steaming teapot filled with tea acted as the tables centrepiece.

The Professor couldn't help but cringe when he saw a fish head sticking out of a smoking cake that was covered in a sickly acidic-coloured green frosting —making it appear to be one of the least appetising he'd ever laid his dot-like eyes on.

He couldn't help but glance worriedly over to Luke while he tried not to break into a cold sweat.

"Um, er, Flora, dear?" The Professor spoke up anxiously. "You _really _didn't have to cook anything."

Flora, seemingly oblivious to the terror and dismay her adoptive parent and his former apprentice was clearly displaying, hummed a merry little song that was so saccharine that it could rot teeth and make them fall out with a clang and clatter. The adopted daughter of Professor Layton giggled sweetly and innocently as she put down the cutlery neatly.

"Nonsense!" She brushed off her father's words. "We have some guests and I want to be as hospitable as can be!"

Upon spotting the absolute travesty that _was _their apparent meals for the day, Phoenix and everybody else felt their stomachs twisting and churning inside of their abdomens and they all suddenly lost even the smallest semblances of an appetite they had with the very high possibility of none of them ever returning. They all felt as the colour drained from each and every one of their faces and even felt a sense of impending doom come over them.

Phoenix hadn't met Flora since she was pretty much absent for the most part whenever he came to visit the Professor to drop Trucy off with him but, seeing the look of utter petrification on the Professor's face was making all of the alarm bells go off inside his head and he immediately felt fear for potential food poisoning should any of that "food" wind up near anybody's mouthes. He could also see that Flora was a sensitive soul —he could tell by how fearful Luke and the Professor looked about being honest with her, and she seemed _far too nice _to do anything wrong on purpose...even if her cooking would probably end up in someone's death.

Flora smiled warmly at them all.

"Now, why don't you all get seated while I make you all some tea?" She suggested while she sauntered merrily out of the room and into the kitchen to go and gather some tea for the guests, she hummed a merry little song with an upbeat yet oblivious voice.

Phoenix swallowed desperately.

He knew he needed to distract everyone and fast!

Said distraction came in the form of a tiny child toddling around the floor as she waddled over to the Professor and hid behind his leg. The small girl had chubby rosy cheeks, huge baby blue eyes, flouncy ginger locks of hair, pale skin, and she wore a cherry red cardigan with a white skirt and matching white leggings.

She looked to be about three years of age.

"Hey, whose that...?" The spiky-haired lawyer asked, pointing down at the trembling young girl cowering behind the Professor.

The Professor seemed momentarily shocked by the change in subject but smiled a proud smile when he saw the subject of the spiky-haired lawyer's focus.

The puzzle-solving gentleman archeologist reached down to rub the timid young child's head, minding his hand didn't flatten her bouncy ginger hair. The child seemed to calm down a bit when she received the gesture of reassurance from the top-hatted gentleman and she glanced up at the spiky-haired attorney with huge blue eyes.

Professor Layton gestured down to the tiny child.

"This is my daughter, her name is Katrielle."

Phoenix was shocked when he heard that.

The Professor had a daughter!? When did this happen! How? His mind was whirling with questions and he tried his best to hold back his shout of surprise so he could avoid scaring the child more then she already was. He watched the small child with a dumbstruck expression plastered upon his face and he was sure that he had become as rigid as a statue due to being as stunned as he was.

The Professor could tell the lawyer was shocked and eyed him warily, then he smiled warmly down at his daughter.

"Say hello, Kat." He said gently.

Katrielle seemed to become a bit less shy as she raised a small chubby hand to the lawyer and waved at him but she still clung tightly to the fabric of her father's trouser leg while burying her face partially within it.

She gave a timid whimper.

All eyes were on the tiny girl hiding behind the Professor's leg, watching the tiny child with a keen interest and they all felt their hearts melt like butter in a microwave due to how cute little Katrielle was; she was so cute that just looking at her could make your teeth fall right out of your gums.

Phoenix put on his warmest and most jolly smile while he knelt down to meet her height a bit better, so he could hopefully appear less intimidating. He wasn't used to younger children and felt a bit uncomfortable around them as a result but he tried to utilise his experience with raising Trucy to try and coax the small child out of hiding.

"U-Um...Hey there, sweetheart. Don't be afraid, I don't bite." He spoke slowly and softly, keeping his voice upbeat.

Everyone watched the scene with soft smiles (Trucy and Maya were especially adoring) and with slight trepidation as Kat came out of hiding and toddled straight over to Phoenix with slow and cautious steps but seemed to grow more and more bold with each and every step towards the older attorney-at-law.

It took a minute but little Katrielle eventually waddled right up to Phoenix and raised both of her pudgy little arms above her head while looking up at him expectantly.

Phoenix knew this signal.

She wanted to be picked up.

He shook his head to himself but decided to oblige to the three-year-old wishes.

Kat had seemed to acclimate to Phoenix as she beamed happily at him, her bright blue eyes were now more inquisitive and she seemed a little bit more giggly. Admittedly this little girl was making his heart swell from the sheer adorability of just being there. Phoenix felt a bit skittish around small children but he warmed up to the small toddler quite quickly because of how cute she was.

Kat giggled mischievously as she proceeded to grab the small bit of hair hanging on Phoenix's forehead and then pulled on it, hard.

"OW!"

Professor Layton couldn't even try to conceal the amusement on his face as he reached forwards and plucked his tiny daughter out of the lawyer in blue's arms and making her let go of the forehead spike that she was dangling in the forefront of his head. He didn't like how the three-year-old was treating the poor lawyer's unusual spiky hair but he just couldn't bring himself to be too cross at her.

The gentleman chuckled lightly but wagged a finger at her in a gentle yet chiding manner.

"Now, now, Katrielle, that isn't the way in which you greet guests." He gingerly admonished.

Kat's smile dropped into a frown as she glanced down, her expression the epitome of guilt.

It was heartbreaking, to be honest.

"Sowwy, daddy..." She muttered sincerely.

The Professor arched a semi-playful brow at the three-year-old cradled in his arms and smirked at her while he gave a singular shake of the head. His dot-like eyes were narrowed with this slight uncharacteristically mischievous hint shimmering within them. To emphasise his point, the Professor nodded over to Phoenix while jerking his head towards his direction.

"While I appreciate your apology, Kat, it is not I who needs it." He hinted.

Kat seemed to consider the top-hat-wearing gent's words for a lengthy couple of moments, letting them hang in the air, before she seemed to finally catch on and looked back to Phoenix. She had to shift and shuffle herself in her father's arms so she could get a better look whilst looking down guiltily once more.

"I'm sowwy, Unca Phoe'ix..." She whimpered.

Phoenix felt a tad strange being called "Uncle" when him and the Professor weren't even close to being related but he couldn't help but think that it had a nice ring to it...and he didn't have the heart to correct the small child. He also noticed how the child's pronunciation of his name sounded more like "Felix" instead of the legendary fire bird he had been named after...but it was still so adorable!

The attorney-at-law chuckled softly as he reached over and patted the small girl's head in a gesture meant to say that he forgave her for yanking at his pokey spikes.

"It's okay, Kat. A lot of people seem to have a strange fascination with my hair..._...since they'd either get a kick out of making fun of it or just laughing at it," _He mumbled that last bit so lowly that his words came out as nothing more than unintelligible grumbles and muttering.

Luke opened his mouth to say add his own two pence to the situation but was stopped when a familiar voice called out.

Flora had finally come back at this time and didn't waste another instant in enunciating her presence to the rest of the gang. She wore a kind-hearted smile that made it impossible to deny the owner of said smile anything and it just made matters worse as everyone was reminded of their impending trip to food poisoning lane...

"Alright, everyone, I'm sure your tummies are rumbling right now so sit down and help yourselves." She said.

Flora hummed sweetly as she sauntered back into the kitchen to grab some more items.

Professor Layton forced the biggest smile he ever wore and nodded with fake gratitude.

"Th-Thank you, dear..."

"You are welcome, father!"

Everybody glanced at one another, their eyes wide and all the colour draining from each and every one of their faces; their complexions were so ghastly paste white that it was almost enough to match the colour of freshly fallen snow.

They all knew now that the time had come for them to meet their fates...

Everyone reluctantly took a seat at the table and just stared dejectedly at the abominable, sad, poor excuses of food that frankly had no business being anywhere close to any of their mouthes. The food looked absolutely putrid and it made their stomachs all clench collectively with protest in outright refusal to consume the food that would more than likely give each and everyone of them food poisoning to the millionth degree.

There was an assortment of different "food" such as

The Professor couldn't help but feel responsible for this unfortunate position his friends were in.

While he adored Flora too much to say anything negative about her lacking culinary skills, that didn't mean that it reduced the feeling of complete guilt when company had come over and were about to sample a taste of those same lacking culinary skills.

Flora was a sensitive dear but that did little to be rid of the ominous sense of impending doom that had settled into the atmosphere.

Athena shifted uncomfortably on her seat, Widget glowing a bright blue colour with a sad face, as she picked at the inedible "food" with her fork and jabbing it into it over and over again with a morose expression dulling her face. The young lawyer in yellow couldn't even bring herself to look at the others as she gazed at her meal with a mixture of disgust and sullen defeat.

"Soooo...does anyone have any last words before we die?"

* * *

**A/N: Heres a new chapter for my AA vs PL Crossover sequel!**

**We get to see little Katrielle and Flora...but will Phoenix, the Professor survive the horror that is Flora's cooking? How will they escape?**

**Stay tuned and find out!**

**-Chloemcg**


	4. Chapter 2: The reunion pt 2

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

The sunshine was beating down, the skies were blue and had been cleared of any clouds; the sun was warm and bright and it felt oddly soothing as it basked all underneath it.

It truly was a beautiful scorcher of a summer's day in London.

After (somehow) surviving Flora's appitizers of doom, the group slipped out of the office as well as the university. It was a miracle to have done it before Flora could unintentionally destroy their digestive tracts any more but they also felt a massive twinge of guilt because of it. Flora was such a sweet young lady that it was very hard to even think of abandoning her like that but it was all for the sakes of their respective stomachs, their sanity and first and foremost her safety

The Ace attorney and Professor Layton group started to soak in the sights and smells of London.

Athena and Maya were especially eager to explore the city as they just zoomed off to do whatever they pleased.

Maya was interested in raiding all of the local fish and chip cafes, because she was still peckish after the not-meal at the university, and she also wanted to finally fulfil a goal she had wanted to complete since the last time she and Phoenix were there. Athena was more interested on the views alone as she followed Maya's lead and Trucy took off to pursue the other two.

It was Phoenix who had to try and reign them in.

"Athena, act your age and get back here! Trucy, don't run off because we gotta stick together!" He called out to them but to no avail as the girls were too busy indulging their curiosity and their appetites.

He sighed as he rubbed his temple to subdue an oncoming migraine.

He started to grumble to himself.

"Sometimes I wonder whether or not I should invest in getting a leash for the lot of them..."

The Professor just offered a sympathetic pat on the spiky-haired lawyers shoulder as he walked alongside him.

The gentleman and the attorney strolled casually as they took in the noisy atmosphere.

The streets were bustling as people went about their daily lives and did whatever, chattering amongst themselves and getting on with whatever they were doing. The shops were lively, the city folk near flooded the streets, life just carried on for the inhabitants of London as the loud murmurs of the townsfolk rang aloud.

Phoenix sent Layton a sideways smirk and furrowed a wiry brow.

This was a look caught by the top-hatted gent.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Wright?"

Instead of answering that question directly, Phoenix heaved a sigh from the very depths of his throat.

"I can't believe how you don't look a day older than when we first met, Professor!"

The Professor side eyed the attorney with a small smirk.

"And I could say the same to you, Mr Wright, with the exception of that little quill of hair hanging down from your forehead and the bags beneath your eyes."

Phoenix felt his mind stall.

(Oh my goodness...since the Professor pointed it out, I can't believe that I'm actually getting old...)

The reality made his heart crumble.

He didn't know how but he suddenly felt as though all the years he had spent seem to crawl up his spine and cloud his mind —it made him feel quite miserable. He also felt a twinge of envy towards the Professor; how come he got to age slower? He barely showed any signs of getting older! It just wasn't fair...! How long would it be until his gray hairs began to show? How long would it take until arthritis started to set in? How long would it take until he needed a cane to get around or how long would it take until he suddenly became a grandfather...!?

He couldn't help but feel puny and pathetic all of a sudden.

The spiky-haired lawyer straightened up as his ears pricked up and he snapped out of his pitiful state of gerontological woes when he heard the distant voice of his teenage daughter call out, her voice seeming to carry in the wind.

"Daaaaddddy! C'moooooon! We gotta keep going!"

Phoenix sighed, smirked and shook his head. Even if he was getting older, at least he had Trucy to keep a spirited spring in his step, and (given her boundless energy) he had a feeling that her childlike energy would keep him active for a long time yet to come. He was jolted from his thoughts as Professor Layton gripped his shoulder and gingerly shook it in his grip.

The Professor grinned at Phoenix and winked at him in a playful manner.

"Shall we catch up to them, Sir blue knight?"

Phoenix caught on to the tease in Professor Layton's voice and was pleasantly shocked. Since when did the Professor have a playful streak? Perhaps he had obtained it after becoming a single father, after all, he should know as he had also changed a bit after Trucy came into his life and he had to raise her.

The spiky-haired lawyer couldn't fight off a teasing smirk of his own and he curtly bowed his head.

"Yes we shall, Sir top hat!"

The two decided to try and catch up with their friends.

* * *

In the meantime, Luke and Maya started to converse with one another.

Maya had found a treat shop and had started waiting in queue to grab a bite to eat and Luke had decided to take the moment to, also, grab himself a treat to settle his stomach after Flora's "lunch".

Maya couldn't help but recall how a couple years ago Luke measured up to her waist. She couldn't believe how tall he'd become —he looked so grown up that she couldn't believe her eyes! He was no longer that little boy whom was so eager to follow the Professor...or the little boy she rubbed fluorescent moss all over that one time.

She felt a nostalgic smile curl upon her lips.

After spending a year in Khura'in, she had yearned for another adventure in London...or anywhere with no requirements to stand beneath a cold waterfall for several hours at a time. It made her feel quite happy to have some time to relax.

Maya glanced over to Luke and tilted her head in confusion.

There had been something niggling at her mind ever since Nick, herself and the others had been reacquainted with their friends from the UK. She didn't want to ask since she worried it would have been a bit forward but the curiosity was getting the better of her, something which her curiosity was known for, and she really wanted to know more about it.

"Hey, Luke? Can I ask you something?"

Luke nodded his head at the Spirit medium and smiled warmly at her.

"Of course! Fire away!"

Maya blurted her question out the second she was given permission to inquire.

"How did the Professor get Kat anyway? I mean, no offence or anything, but he doesn't seem like the type to get married to me...and I haven't seen her mother around?"

Luke raised a hand to rub the back of his head, minding his fedora, and sheepishly explained "Actually, I guess I was the one who brought her into the world."

Maya almost froze mid-step and whirled to face the young man, her jaw could have easily smashed the ground. What did he mean by that? Actually, there was only one thing he could mean but she couldn't believe it; she soooo wanted to hear the story!

The spirit medium gave him a look of the purest intrigue and Luke must have caught on to her muted wishes as he started to tell his solemn tale.

Maya listened intently as Luke told the story on how he had boarded a ship.

Luke was on what was supposed to be a pleasant ferry ride to London; he was fifteen at the time. He was still fairly active in my Zoology pursuits while in America and, during the trip, he even met this wonderful woman whom was pregnant and they became good friends and they became friends. But, one night, in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm, the ferry started to take on water and the woman had gone into labour and Luke was the one who had to deliver the baby —Katrielle.

Maya gasped at that and brought a hand to her mouth.

The spirit medium couldn't believe that Luke had to deal with that at such a young age...but, then again, Luke always had to deal with a lot. Her mind drifted back to their original adventure in Labyrinthia and how brave and courageous the boy was, even after thinking Professor Layton had transformed into a gold statue. He was hurting at the time but he still kept pushing forwards.

She kept listening, alas she noticed as a pained look swept across the eighteen-year-old's face as he resumed the story.

After he had successfully delivered the newborn and tried to help both mother and babe out and into some lifeboats he had procured in foresight, this was after all the passengers had left them to fend for themselves. However, his friend just didn't have the energy or strength anymore and was close to death, so she requested as a final wish that Luke took the baby to Professor Layton (as somehow she knew him) and Luke was forced to leave the woman on the sinking ship and take the baby girl with him.

Maya could hear the pain clear in Luke's voice as he told her this part and she couldn't help but feel a large surge of sympathy for him, going through that must have been terrible.

Luke shook the thickness from his voice.

"...I took Kat to the Professor, he eventually agreed to adopt her, and the rest is history."

Maya was in a state of disbelief, even as she and Luke himself were called up to the front of the queue and made their orders respectively. It was after receiving their snacks that the two subordinates —the ace assistant and the Professor's former apprentice— decided to start heading on back to meet back up with Phoenix and the Professor.

On their way out, they even noticed that Apollo, Trucy and little Kat had taken to studying the treats on display as even they wanted to indulge each of their sweet tooth.

Luke bit into his newly-purchased mint chocolate chip cookie and decided to refresh their conversation, changing the subject from one of gloom into a topic of more cheer and positivity. He cast the spirit medium a sideways glance as he chewed his biscuit and, after swallowing his small bite (after all, a gentleman never spoke while chewing their food) he spoke.

"So what about you, Miss Maya?" Luke inquired as he glanced over at the spirit medium strolling at a leisurely alongside him. "What have you been up to these passed eight years?"

Maya smiled.

"I've been well on my way to becoming an official top spirit medium and, since it's been my first year in Khura'in, I decided I completed my first year of training and I've been given a small break before continuing and then starting on my second year!"

Luke furrowed a brow.

"Spirit medium? What's that?"

Maya paused when the 18-year-old asked that. It only just dawned on her that while she did tell the lad that she had special abilities, she never really elaborated on what those special abilities were...she instantly felt her face redden until her face had the same complexion as a ripe tomato. She chuckled with slight embarrassment as she decided to explain herself.

"Oh. That's right...I never did explain, did I?"

Luke shook his head and Maya began her explanation.

"A spirit medium is someone who can channel a dead person. The Fey clan, my family, have this special technique known as the "Kurain Channeling Technique" passed down from my ancestor.

Maya pointed at the nine-shaped jewel around her neck.

"You see this necklace? This not only helps with the Khura'in channeling technique but it also helps tell you what deep secrets you're hiding...but I'll explain THAT more with Nick later."

It was Luke's turn to gasp.

"Goodness, Maya! That's really impressive! I bet that must have helped Mr Wright with a lot of trials since all you'd need to do is take the form of the victim, ask them how they died and the case is solved!"

Maya rolled her eyes internally.

"Oh if only it would be that simple...there are a few stipulations you've gotta consider when performing the Kurain channeling technique. The conditions are that you have to know the spirits appearance and true name so, unless I have a good picture of who I'm channeling and the true name of that same person...let's just say that it would be very hard to do."

The gentleman in blue smiled.

"Cool! So you are training in the East to become this Master?" He asked.

Maya nodded, clapping her hands together with proud delight.

"Yep!"

Luke pondered for a sec. When Maya said that during their time in Labyrinthia, was she referring to her spiritual powers? He nodded to himself since he decided that this was a fair assumption to make. It did make sense and he didn't know if she had any other abilities. Needless to say, this made him quite intrigued.

He could remember what Maya had told him, too, word-for-word:

"Trust me, Luke, when it comes to people and their special abilities, nothing surprises me. I have a few myself, you know..."

The queue started to mobilise as Maya shuffled up towards the front cashier desk with Luke right behind her. During this, Luke found himself thinking about Maya's younger cousin, Pearls, and he felt his heart skip a beat at the mere thought of her beautiful face and her striking silver/gray/blue/obsidian eyes...he caught himself thinking often about Maya's cousin and, as such, he decided to move on to a different topic.

"Umhmm..." Luke cleared his throat awkwardly.

Maya's attention was captured and she looked at him as the queue stopped moving momentarily.

"Hows Pearl if, er, you don't mind me asking...?" Luke asked, fumbling his words a tad.

Maya smirked to herself when she noted that the young gentleman's face suddenly took on the complexion of a bright red cherry.

Ever since Luke had met her cousin, Pearl Fey, the two had become infatuated with one another and would constantly video call one another and chat for hours on end. Luke would not only always get this lovesick yet dreamy expression on his face every time Pearly was brought up in conversation but he would also turn bright red.

Admittedly, Maya couldn't think of anyone more worthy to date her younger cousin.

"Heh...don't worry, Lukey-boy! Your girlfriend is absolutely okay. She would've loved to come too but she's pretty busy back at home with schoolwork and stuff."

Luke was a tad disappointed but shrugged his shoulders.

If she couldn't make it then that was fine.

Maya smirked at the former apprentice of Professor Layton and winked playfully at him.

"Next time I'm sure that Pearly will come and you two can have a nice tour around London together."

Luke tried to hide his face in his jumper due to the fact that his face was burning red now probably due to sheepish, love struck embarrassment. He screwed his eyes shut and let out a very strange sound that sounded like a blend of high-pitched squealing, deep-throated chuckling and timid coughing. His mouth had become a squiggly smile that quivered tremendously.

If that wasn't the appearance for a love struck gentleman, then Maya had no idea what was...

The spirit medium proceeded to stuff her manju bun inside her mouth whole before she gripped Luke's sleeve and pulled him along. It took her a few seconds to chew and then swallow (it was shocking that she didn't choke on it) and she started to drag Luke along with her as a little determined grin spread across her pale pink-painted lips.

"C'mon, lover boy! Let's go find the Professor and Nick!"

* * *

Apollo had branched off to follow Athena, Trucy and Katrielle and found them in another treat shop that just so happened to have been next to the treat shop that Maya and Luke wandered into.

The quartet silently studied each and every single pudding that was on display and speculated on whether or not to get some for themselves to help fill their tummies after what happened back at the university and Flora's cooking. Athena had stayed at the entrance to read the menu of items on sale, Trucy stared at all the chocolate and had decided to "investigate" the chocolate fountain, Apollo sat back and observed the girls and Kat was just staring intently at all the cakes on offer.

Little Kat stumbled over to the big glass case and put her adorable chubby hands to it to examine the desserts being shown off.

"Caaaaake...!" Chirped the three year old, wearing the biggest smile on her adorable little face and then turned to face the adults chaperoning her. She started pointing to one of the strawberry muffins on display and her eyes were huge and pleading as she clearly tried to utilise her absolute adorability to the maximum.

Then she clasped her small, endearingly chubby hands together as she begged the attorney in red for a treat.

"Uncle Polly? May I have cake?"

Apollo felt a tad strange after being called "Uncle", he was mixed between feeling an overwhelming sense of joy while also feeling a tad sheepish at being referred that way.

The spiky-fringed lawyer opened his mouth to decline, to advise the little girl ask her father, but any words he might have spoken had all but vanished when he saw the heart-melting expression on her cute little face. Kat could have easily pulled off a face that could even rival that of a kicked puppy and Apollo found all resistance melt away from him.

"Yeah, come on, Polly!" Trucy joined in on the begging. "You can't fight against that cute little face, besides, I'm hungry too! Pleeeeeeeeeease?"

Apollo opened his mouth to protest but he just sighed, defeated.

He could never could say "no" to the puppy dog face and it was especially so when it came to Trucy pulling it off for some reason. Perhaps it was because he knew making his bosses daughter upset could come with serious punishments or maybe it was that Trucy could easily use him for target practice in her magic shows...but no...there was a more solid reason than that.

He knew it...

He reached into his pocket and rummaged around for his wallet. He did have a bit of a soft spot for children, although he'd never tell anybody else about it out of slight embarrassment.

"Aw, okay...here ya go..."

He grudgingly handed both Trucy and Kat each the money needed to purchase a snack each.

"YAAAAY!"

Trucy and Katrielle whooped in celebratory unison as the former scooped the latter up into her arms and carried her towards the cashier/reception desk so they could each pick out a treat for themselves. The magician had a springy skip in her step as she carried the three-year-old child over to grab some desserts for themselves —Trucy and Kat had developed a strong sisterly bond with one another and it was rather adorable to see how sweet it was.

Apollo clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shook his head to himself, pit him up against Trucy and he deflates like a balloon.

How could he compete with cuteness?

He didn't even have Athena's special sense of hearing but he was certain he could hear her snickering behind him.

His face fell flatter than a ducks foot and his eyes narrowed a little bit as he huffed and grumbled, he crossed his arms across his chest and harrumphed. After Kat, whom was happily munching on her strawberry shortcake, and Trucy had obtained their proper snacks, they met back up with both himself and Athena.

Athena smiled happily.

"Hey, aren't you gonna get something?"

That happy smile faded a bit and her skin complexion paled just a tad, her stomach let out a loud gurgling sound that was accompanied by a growling undertone. She looked five seconds away from throwing up everything she'd ever eaten in her entire life! Widget even turned bright blue with a little computerised sad expression as it cried out.

"After eating what Flora served up!? No, thank you!"

It dawned on Apollo and Trucy right then and there; Athena was the only one who dared try and eat Flora's meal.

Athena swallowed hard as she straightened her posture and put on the worlds fakest smile.

"I'm...I'm totally fine, guys..."

Nobody was convinced, not even Katrielle.

Apollo deadpanned "Athena. I don't even have to see a nervous tic to see that you're lying here."

The younger lawyer in yellow's response was to simply moan as she slouched so heavily that it looked like her own body was trying to drag her down to the floor. She groaned pitifully as she lurched forwards and clutched her stomach painfully, she inhaled deeply for what felt like hours until she finally stood back up, making sure to stand up as straight as possible, and gave a self-assured nod of her head.

"I...I said I'm alright, just need a second. Shall we be off then?"

Apollo and Trucy both glanced at one another. That was such a quick turnaround that it concerned the both of them, Athena looked better now so maybe they shouldn't push it; the lawyer in red and the magician eventually nodded in agreement to Athena's suggestion to move on. It was probably the next best move since being stuck in London wouldn't be entirely ideal...

Trucy bent down in front of Kat, whom stood idly by the whole time, lifted the young girl up and sat her down on her shoulders.

The three-year-old giggled with delight and it turned out that her laughter raised the atmosphere from concerned to contentment, nobody could not smile at the sight and sounds of little Kat enjoying herself as the magician gave her a piggy back ride.

The group started to make their leave out the door.

"C'mon, guys! Let's go find Daddy and the others!" Trucy announced.

* * *

After reuniting after their brief time apart, the group made their way over to Tower bridge where (apparently) the Professor and Luke managed to enter Labyrinthia via book.

Phoenix, Maya, Luke and the Professor were all quite excited to see how much Labyrinthia had changed over the years while Apollo, Athena, Katrielle and Trucy could barely contain their enthusiasm; needless to say, the atmosphere was quite intense and filled with electrifying excitement.

Upon arriving, the group entered the tunnel where the odd shaped mark remained since the last time, only difference was that the wall looked more eroded and cracked since the eight years of lack of use had apparently taken its toll. There was even some plant life attached to the slots where parts of the wall should have been, the thick vines kept the pieces stuck fast so attempting to manoeuvre it would be more tricky.

The group all stared at the wall with dubious expressions.

What now?

Phoenix looked over to the Professor and quirked his brow.

"Uuuuuh...do you know HOW we're gonna get to Labyrinthia, Professor?"

Professor Layton didn't reply but he did hum thoughtfully as he scratched his chin in deep thought, his dot-like eyes narrowed and focused. That was a legitimate question. How were they going to get to Labyrinthia? Last time they were fortunate to have a book transport them to that mysterious town but now they had nothing. Granted, since Labyrinthia had become accessible it would be easier to just check on booking but, then again, the Professor knew that there were more efficient ways to getting there without resorting to extensive travel.

Darklaw (Or Eve Belduke, rather) managed to come easily so there must be some trick to getting there.

However, before anything else could be said or done, something strange started to happen.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What's going on!?" Maya shouted, trying to be heard over the rumbling and crumbling.

The walls started to violently shake, as did the ground, and the sounds of vines snapping whipped in the air. Everyone had to plant their feet firmly on the ground to avoid toppling over but Apollo, Luke and Trucy all lost their balances and Phoenix bent down to try and pick them up as did Maya.

The shaking and tremors became increasingly violent as everything seemed to crumble all around them.

Nobody knew what was happening, just that it was frightening!

The wall began to glow an ominous azure blue colour, the eye-shaped symbol lit up like an explosion of fireworks and, within instants, everyone was engulfed in a bright light. After that the entire world surrounding our heroes had been swallowed in a blinding white flash of light.

Nobody knew what was happening anymore as they suddenly lost all consciousness...

* * *

**A/N: Heres a new chapter for this story and it's very lengthy.**

**Now our group gets to go back to Labyrinthia.**

**I worked very long on this chapter because I kept getting bad cases of Writers block but hopefully I shall be able to resume this story since I've already got some of the following chapters prepared.**

**I hope you guys have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night!**

**-Chloemcg**


	5. Chapter 2: The reunion part 3

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

Professor Layton rubbed his eyes as he very vaguely regained some of his senses.

His muscles came to as all he could make out was the black void of his own mind, as well as his own thoughts flying about like a ball being passed back and forth from one person to another.

After some thought and attempt at recollection, he concluded that he had been knocked unconscious at some point or rather.

"...Where...Where am I?"

He groaned as he shifted his position and tried to open his eyes. He dragged open his closed eyelids and finally got a dose of where he had ended up as he looked about for anything that could tell him where he ended up since he also could a feeling of distinguishable coldness that left his knuckles numb and motionless.

He heaved a heavy breath from deep within his throat. His head thudded from the migraine his experienced from in the depths of his mind and he gave a thick sigh laced with exhaustion, what was the matter with him and why was his regain of consciousness so delayed right now? He couldn't really comprehend much except for the fact that he was lying down upon a firm surface...a solid ground-like surface.

The professor finally regained all feeling and grabbed his hat before planting it atop his head and gazed at his surroundings.

He sat up with a start.

He recognised this place!

He recognised the lush green grass, the bright red flowers popping and flourishing out of the ground, the singular but lengthy dirt pathway, the soft and soothing sounds of the stream rushing by.

He started to survey his surroundings a bit more. He saw the clear fields and then, across the river, he saw a row of trees that seemed to stand in a line and then carried on into a woodland that was abundant with trees and they led to a path that seemed to lead to a huge circular barrier.

He recognised this place all too well as the boarder of the town of Labyrinthia.

He took a deep breath to collect himself and gather his thoughts, sitting in the grassy field.

The atmosphere was actually really pleasant and soothing.

The winds brought a gentle cool breeze that carried a hint of summertime warmth, the flowers abloom allowed for there to be a beautiful aroma that wafted through the meadow, the sound of crystal blue water rushing through a small river creak reverberated through the lush greenery, and the occasional sound of a butterfly's wing beat created a gentle ambiance.

It was hard not to be caught up in the moment.

"Uuuuuuunghhhh...where are we?"

Professor Layton glanced to his right to find Maya sitting up and sorely rubbing the top of her head, groaning as her eyes were screwed shut.

The spirit medium was tentatively sitting up and rubbing at her sore head and she seemed just barely awake as she seemed to regain consciousness from whatever sleep she'd just seemed to sink into.

It was then that Layton spotted Katrielle curled up in the fresh green grass with Apollo and Trucy laying nearby and Athena sprawled out next to Luke and Phoenix was laying closer to the river. From the strange placing of where everyone was, it would appear as though they'd fallen right out of the sky...but that was impossible! Plus, it seemed that everyone else had yet to awaken.

Maya and the Professor both glanced at their surroundings for a sec before looking back to each other.

Professor Layton shrugged at her.

"It should appear that we have awoken near Nulwitch woods."

Maya was still a bit dazed from having just been woken up and her mind still wasn't as sharp yet, she tilted her head to one side and closed her eyes as she thought about what the archeologist wearing the top hat said. She cast her mind back to their previous quick visit a year after the initial mystery behind Labyrinthia was solved.

"Oh, yeaaaah...Eldwitch woods was changed to Nulwitch woods..."

A few long moments of peaceful (yet awkward) silence seemed to pass by before Maya realised what she just said.

"WAIT! NULWITCH WOODS!? That means we're in...!"

The Professor nodded his head, although startled by the master-in-training's outburst he didn't react to it.

He knew what she was thinking.

"Indeed, Miss Fey. It would seem we have returned to Labyrinthia."

The rest of the group took a few minutes to wake up and gather their thoughts as they arose one-by-one. Upon regaining consciousness, Apollo, Athena, Trucy and even little Kat gathered around to discuss their next options and to think about what they were going to do next. They knew that they needed to be careful and, as they were in unknown parts, needed to be very thoughtful about where they were going next.

**"K-CHOOOO!"**

A loud sneeze brought everyone out of their thoughtful reverie and all eyes snapped upon Phoenix whom was sitting up and he looked miserable.

His eyes were sunken, his posture was a slouch, a small trail of mucus trailed out of his left nostril, his complexion paled and he gave a miserable groan. Not to mention, whenever he breathed, it sounded as though someone was squeezing the air out of his lungs.

The lawyer in blue gave a dramatic shudder.

"Uuuugh..."

"Dear me. Are you alright?" The Professor inquired as he stared at his suddenly-sick friend.

Phoenix in a daze.

As he stared at his companions, he couldn't help but notice that his vision was swimming and rippling. It was as though he was looking at the world through a dodgy camera lens and it almost made him feel nauseous. He almost wanted to grab his stomach to try and stop it from flipping so that feeling would become a reality.

He sniffled, trying to stop a small trail of mucus from trailing down from his left nostril.

His sinuses felt as though they were blocked.

Everyone gathered around the spiky-haired ace attorney in blue and stared down at him with a mix of concern and bewilderment as to what could be the cause of the lawyer's sniffly condition.

Phoenix said nothing but just looked up at everyone from where he sat.

"He was like this the first time we were here too, although not nearly as sneezy!" Luke pointed out.

The top-hatted gentleman took his eighteen-year-old student's words into consideration, Phoenix's current state of health (especially his cherry red nose) and cocked his head to one side when he thought of the answer to what was going on with the ace attorney.

He looked sympathetically at Phoenix and pointed upwards.

"It seems to me, Mr. Wright, that you're allergic to these flowers."

Pheonix just let out a long-suffering moan.

"Uuuugh...I didn't feel like this _last time _so why now...?"

The Professor gave a mild shrug of his shoulders and made a candid suggestion.

"Perhaps you just had a mild case last time and the severity increased due to the lengthy exposure. After all, we have no clue as to how long we were unconscious in these fields."

Everyone nodded in acceptance to the explanation. True, they had _no _idea as to how long they lay passed out so maybe the prolonged exposure made his allergies worse. Although the ace attorney looked pretty miserable, they couldn't help but ponder on how long they had been out there...and how did they wind up in the middle of a flowery field on the boarder of Labyrinthia anyway?

"Is it just me or does the boss get sick pre-tty easily?" Athena asked suddenly, putting two syllables when she said the word "pretty".

She idly tapped her moon rock crescent moon-shaped earring as she glanced over to Apollo, whom just nodded in agreement, and Trucy as well as Maya; the other two girls just smirked and nodded in agreement to the statement.

Maya giggled.

"Oh...you have _no _idea, Athena! Nick got so sick whilst walking across a bridge this one time that his face turned bright green! Not to mention my sis told me that Nicky boy was one sick puppy when he was a teenager."

"No kidding!" Exclaimed Apollo, thoughtful yet amused at the same time.

Pheonix, meanwhile, just scowled at the lot of them as though insulted.

_(Traitors...)_

The ace attorney group just twittered on about his embarrassing days as a young man with an immune system so low that it may as well as surrendered to any common cold that came along and broke him down. He found it really irritating how a simple cold could knock his entire immune system askew.

Luke cleared his throat.

He decided to try and move both the subject and everyone else along before an argument broke out as he could practically see the fires of silent fury blazing in the spiky-haired lawyer in blue's ocean blue eyes. The eighteen-year-old gentleman tipped the rim of his fedora absentmindedly and pointed towards the river ahead.

"Come along. The sooner we get into the town, the better Mr Wright should be feeling..."

The teenaged gent couldn't help but smirk a hint cheekily at the end of his sentence and he eyed Phoenix; it seemed that not even he could help but poke fun at the lawyer.

_(Not you too, Luke...) _Phoenix bemoaned.

Professor Layton started to feel sympathetic to his comrade's plight.

"Everyone, could I ask we stop making fun of the poor man...?"

The spiky-haired attorney at law could not help but shiver in disgust at himself.

He wrapped his own arms around himself as he gave the odd shiver of his body, feeling quite miserable. He had no idea he had an allergy to these flowers especially as the first time he came to Labyrinthia he felt fine around them...albeit there was a slight tickle inside of his nose which made him at constant threat of sneezing fits. He ran a hand through his spiky hair and leant heavily against someone, he was pretty sure it was Maya or one of his friends, and he lumbered through the meadow.

He could not wait until he was in the clear of these things since the pollen was intense whilst the little flowery particles had found a way to shove itself up each of his nostrils, irritating them further. Not to mention his eyeballs were beginning to itch horribly and that simply added to how miserable he felt.

He wished he had a tissue on hand.

He still couldn't believe that they had arrived back in Labyrinthia...and in such a bizarre method too! He thought that magic was done and dusted in this place, why were they transported in such a manner like that?

He made a mental note to ask Eve Belduke about this later...

His allergic reaction started to alleviate when they reached a large wooden bridge...which seemed to have been partially destroyed, unfortunately.

Maya seemed especially gutted at this.

"OH COME ONNNN!" She cried, her jaw dropping to the ground in disbelief. "I THOUGHT WE TOTALLY FIXED THIS THING!"

"...!" Professor Layton was just as stunned as Maya was but he decided to not make as much of a spectacle of himself —after all, a gentleman never makes a scene in public.

All he _could_ do was give Maya's shoulder a reluctant pat of sympathy.

The only single thing that showed any way of getting across was a small rickety boat that was docked on the other side of the stream.

It was clearly given a wide berth.

This was a conundrum, how were they going to get across the river?

The Professor, however, couldn't help but wonder _why _there was no more modern and easier way of getting across? Besides, it was revealed that this was a regular town where _electricity _was real! Why was there still the need for a boat to get across an otherwise easily accessible river? It just didn't make sense for him right now.

Everyone stood on the one side of the river, silently pondering on how they could get that boat over to them so they could climb aboard and get across to the other side. Everyone wracked their brains as they stared thoughtfully at the boat, the rope it was attached to, and the river itself.

This was a bit tricky.

Maya rolled the long purple sleeves of her robe up in preparation for something whilst smirking rather evilly —it became clear then that the spirit medium was getting ready to push everyone into the river so they could swim across to get to the other side...

"If push comes to shove, guys, we might have to swim across."

Apollo firmly planted his feet to the ground as he raised his hand, looking really anxious about the prospect of swimming.

"But what about the members in this group who _can't _swim?"

Athena looked at Apollo with bewilderment and perplexity, her eyes were so wide that they could have easily popped right out of their sockets.

"Seriously!? You can't swim!?"

Apollo scowled at her and folded his arms across his chest in a huff.

He knew that it was shocking that he couldn't swim but there were reasons for it, one of which was that he just didn't have much physical buoyancy so he'd normally sink like a stone when he was in water. Not to mention he'd had a traumatic experience when he was a small boy when he almost drowned in a lake. But still, he didn't like the implication and tone of voice the lawyer in yellow was using.

"Well _excuse me _for having almost drowned as a child and since then not liking the idea of water very much!"

Phoenix decided to step in as he scowled at both his protégés with the fury of a parent trying to wrangle his misbehaving children. His ocean blue eyes seemed to turn into a cold icy colour that seemed almost demented as his very aura seemed to darken around him. He may have looked and felt sicker than a dog but that didn't mean that he couldn't wield the power of parental intimidation like a pro when he needed to.

"Apollo! Athena! No fighting unless you want me to have you clean the toilets for a month when we get back!" He barked.

Apollo nor Athena could help but lower their heads in shame and guilt at the lecture.

"...Okay, we're sorry boss..."

Everyone stood back and observed the scolding with both fear and amazement.

They knew how Phoenix had become a parent to Trucy and probably had to practice on reigning in both Apollo and Athena since they had this sibling rivalry going on; although it looked like Athena was more the instigator in these situations, and so he more than likely either threatened or instilled the punishment of cleaning toilets somehow.

Everybody felt a strange mixture of impressment and fear.

"Wow...I never knew that Mr Wright could get so angry." Luke shuddered.

Professor Layton smirked at his former student.

"Being a parent changes a man, my boy."

The puzzle-solving gentleman wearing the top hat stepped back from the edge of the river and smiled at the rest of the group.

"Anyways, it seems that there is a way we can solve our little conundrum..."

"Ooooh, I think I know what it is!" Maya chirped, bouncing up and down enthusiastically on the spot.

Kat joined in on the cheery tones and bounced up and down next to Maya, answering the question as happily as possible with her baby blue eyes sparkling with childish wonder, her chubby cherub cheeks brightened as she wore a huge smile whilst she giggled joyously.

"A puzzle!"

* * *

_Puzzle 1: Ravenous river crossing._

_(20 picarats)_

_Professor Layton, Phoenix and the pack all need to get the boat so they could sail over to the other side of the lake so they could enter Labyrinthia but the boat is dangerously close to becoming out of reach. Using a nearby rope, they use said rope as a lasso to wrap around the bow of the boat, just missing the mast and pull it towards them so they could access it._ _There is eight in the group all together and the boat will only be big enough for one person individually._

_How many times would the boat need to cross the lake in order to deliver each member of the party safely on to the other side of the river?_

_(A: 20_

_(B: 15_

_(C: 10_

* * *

_If you guessed B then you are correct!_

_Well done!_

_It would take fifteen times to take the boat to and back from the other side of the river bank leading up to Labyrinthia!_

_Now our heroes can visit the town without further hindrance!_

* * *

Professor Layton gave a confident smirk of satisfaction as he hopped off of the boat, landing feet-first on to the sandy shores. He was the final person to sail on the wooden boat after everyone else got to the other side first and he finally let go of the rope, letting it drop to the floor like a rock sinking in water.

The puzzle aficionado tipped his top hat with pride.

"Every puzzle has a solution!"

"Oh my gosh! I wanna try that! That looked like sooo much fun! Not to mention, I could hear your heart scream with a lot of happiness when you solved it!" Athena squealed.

The young defence attorney felt a huge surge of excitement rush through her when she saw how puzzles could be done. She found it so cool and thought-provoking! She wanted to try one out next! couldn't hide her blush when Widget, now glowing a bright green colour with a digitised happy face, blurted out its agreement:

_"Sooo coool!"_

Luke and Professor Layton both looked confused as to what the young lady was talking about, they didn't know what she was speaking of when she spoke of hearing happiness in people's hearts but were determined to ask about it later. However, neither gentleman could keep a smile off of their faces when they took note of Athena's interest in puzzles; the gentlemanly duo made a mental note to teach Athena all about the concept later on.

Alas, now that everyone was safely across, the group decided to just move on and get to the town posthaste.

_A while later..._

Apollo, Athena, Luke, Phoenix, Maya, Trucy, Professor Layton and Katrielle all wandered down the bustling streets of Labyrinthia.

The group studied their surroundings as they made their way towards Patty's bakery and they couldn't help but be surprised that not very much had changed at all.

The town still had this old medieval feel to it but with the occasional hint of modernisation here and there such as the occasional and subtle sprinkle of technology and even the fact that most of the townspeople were dressed in more modern clothing. It also had this...Celtic atmosphere that actually had this air of history that activated Professor Layton's love for historical architectural design as an archeologist.

Apollo gave an awed whistle as he glanced around.

"Wooooaaah...this place looks incredible!"

The Professor nodded in wholehearted agreement as the group walked in silence, taking in the world around them, the sights, the scents, the sounds; as a matter of fact —one could say that they had stepped into a whole new world! True, it looked a tad more modern with the odd twist here and there but this place was the epitome of a medieval style town. The buildings were old, there was no cars or vehicles (except for horses), there were market stalls selling magazines and books and the townsfolk seemed happy and walked around. They seemed oblivious to the newly-arrived group...until some started murmuring whilst eyeing the group strangely.

A loud chorus of shock and uncertainty rang in the voices of the townsfolk walking by them.

"Oh goodness gracious! Our heroes have returned!"

"Could that be them...?!"

"Who are those people accompanying them?"

"Are they here to save us once again?"

"They hardly changed at all since they were here nine years ago!"

Phoenix tried to block out the gossip now being spread around like wildfire as he and Professor Layton led the group down the road towards Patty's bakery. The ace attorney felt particularly puny right now due to how a lot of people chatted about him and he couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of insecurity hit him with the force of a jackhammer to a brick.

Everyone remained silent for what felt like ages until someone spoke up and broke the ice.

"Hey, uncle Professor?"

The Professor looked down at Trucy, recognising the nickname. He remembered how the magician used to call him that when she was a young eight year old; Phoenix would drop Trucy off with him during his visits to England for his Europeon "law trips" and he always found the nickname endearing.

He glanced down at the young magician dressed in blue and smiled warmly.

"Yes Trucy? What is it, dear?"

Trucy asked with a beaming smile and her blue eyes agleam with joyful and adorable optimism.

"Can I _please _hold Katrielle for a bit? I promise I'll be careful!"

The Professor's eyes softened and his smile faded slightly as his facial features etched with worry. It wasn't that he didn't trust Trucy with his daughter, not at all! But he was worried that, with his daughter being so young, that she'd get dropped or something...before he could even think anymore, Kat just glared up at him with a rather indignant pouty expression and folded her arms across her chest.

She was giving him a look that read "Just pass me to the cool magician..."

Professor Layton reluctantly handed off his three-year-old daughter and the girls immediately started to bond.

Trucy hoisted the little girl up and carried her on her shoulders, giving her a piggyback-ride.

"Okay, Kat! How old are ya?" The magician asked playfully.

Thwee!" Kat exclaimed whilst she held up three fingers.

"Three? Well you're getting to be a big girl, huh?"

"Mmhmmm!" She nodded once in an enthusiastic manner. "I want to be just like my daddy and uncle Luke when I grow up!"

Everyone who heard that all felt their hearts melt like butter in a microwave. Little Kat wanted to be like her father when she grew up, nobody could lie and say that this wasn't adorable beyond words, letting those words spew from any of their mouthes would have been awful. All they could do was go "Awww" in response.

Athena stepped forwards and poked her tongue out at Kat.

"Ooooh, you are just so precious I could gobble you up right here!" Athena cooed in a baby voice.

Kat's smile vanished instantly when she heard those words and proceeded to flinch away from Athena, her eyes had enlarged with alarm and she started to timidly hide her face into Trucy's blue cloak/cape. She clearly felt scared about it and she started to make little snuffly sounds that combined with whimpers and sobs.

Athena panicked.

She could feel as her sensitive ears quivered due to the impending sounds they were about to be overloaded by. She hadn't meant to make the poor child cry! She clasped both hands together in a pleading motion as she bit her lower lip anxiously.

"AH! No, no, no, no! Don't cry, Kat! Please don't cry! I didn't mean that! I was just joking, I'd never eat you! Please stop crying!"

Kat's whimpers and sobs quietened a bit as she kept her face buried in Trucy's magician cape, however Athena couldn't help but lament in the meantime.

How come animals nor children liked her?

Apollo popped up to walk alongside the attorney in yellow.

He knew that his co-worker loved animals and children and wanted to interact with them but she was rather an "in-your-face" sort of person when it came to being around either one of them; and he could see how that was a bit much. Athena would always be quite insistent on spending time with animals and children —that much was clear during what he'd heard happened when Athena tried to befriend a penguin at an aquarium. She wasn't doing anything bad on purpose, though, so he didn't fault her entirely.

The spiky-fringed lawyer in red took a deep breath, let it out, and decided to be candid with her.

He knew what she was thinking.

"Let's face it, Athena...you scare kids with your overeager attitude."

Athena's face turned a blazing shade of red immediately and her eyes narrowed darkly.

"Hey! What're you trying to imply here!?"

Kat peeled her face away from the cape her face was buried in and turned to stare at Apollo and Athena arguing —this was unbeknownst to either of them— and watched them with a keen interest. She sniffled but kept her focus glued on the two attorneys bickering in front of her.

Apollo and Athena ceased arguing when the mouth-watering scent flowed through the air and reached their noses. It was such an appetising smell that made everyone's mouthes water so a river of saliva dribbled right out of their pie holes the closer they got.

The scent of freshly-baked dough and spongy bread wafted through the air like a stream of delicious-smelling amazingness.

It was mouth watering in every sense of the word.

Following the amazing scent over to the bakery, it didn't take long before they reached their destination and nobody could have felt a bigger sense of relief to find sanctuary from all the incredulous yet staring eyes of the town. Patty's bakery hadn't changed in the slightest, it was as if it was kept in the very same condition eight years ago.

Nothing had changed at all about the bakery and that just added to the nostalgia.

"Okay, love, just don't go too far!"

"Ok, Aunt Patty. I'll be right-!"

Espella never got to finish her sentence as she instantly collided with the group of attorneys, zoology expert, magician, spirit medium and three-year-old..._hard_. Upon impact, everyone wound up sat on their backsides on the pavement. Upon opening her eyes, she laid her gaze on the people in front of her and her breath was taken away immediately and her eyeballs started to liquify, signifying a batch of oncoming tears.

Espella didn't seem to be able to believe her eyes at who she was staring at.

Then, as the gears started turning inside her head, she found herself incapable of acting on thoughts and instead was replaced by instinct alone as she jumped to her feet, charged at the unsuspecting group, and tackled them in a violent hug all within the timespan of 2 and a half seconds.

It was quite the spectacle to behold.

Espella happily held both Phoenix and Layton at the same time.

Phoenix and the Professor _did _end up being slightly squished as they were tightly enveloped in the woman's arms that felt way stronger than they ever did when she was younger. Although they were feeling as though the embrace was crushing their respective rib cages, both Phoenix and Professor Layton smiled through it (they couldn't keep the pain off of their facial expressions, however).

It felt as though it was all too soon before Espella finally relinquished her hold on both Layton and Phoenix and the two were finally able to get a proper look at her.

Espella had grown from her 18-year-old self and looked quite different than she did when she was a teenager; her entire being was radiating confidence. Her long blonde hair was tied into a single plat, she wore her signature red cloak over her shoulders, she had grown taller, she even wore a pair of glasses that had solid gold rims and frames. Her signature red cloak covered her shoulders and her pendant hung tight around her neck.

She had really grown into herself.

Phoenix, panting heavily after almost being hugged to death, proceeded to turn to the rest of the group and gestured to the young woman stood next to him with both arms.

"This, guys, is Espella Cantabella...she's a good friend of ours."

Espella bowed politely.

"It is a pleasure to meet you."

Then she pointed to Apollo and Athena, "And who are you?"

Phoenix smiled as he regained his breath and gestured to them both warmly.

"Espella. These are my protégés, Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, and here's my daughter —Trucy."

The spiky-haired attorney cast a playful wink to the magician to which Trucy giggled.

Espella smiled. She hadn't thought that the Professor and Phoenix would each have a family and it made her heart leap with pride. She glanced down when she suddenly felt a tug on her cloak and found little Kat clasping it in her grasp, looking up at her with enlarged yet innocent eyes; she wore a _huge _grin on her face and her eyes glistened with adorable curiosity.

Everyone was shocked since they knew that Kat was chilling on Trucy's shoulders mere moments ago and _now _she was on the ground to play with Espella's crimson cloak.

Espella stooped down and gently grabbed up Kat in her arms.

"And whose this?"

Professor Layton smiled with pride.

"That's Katrielle, she's my daughter..."

The woman with the blonde hair giggled with delight, happy that she and her friends were all back together again.

"Oh my! I can't believe how much you lot have changed!" She exclaimed in shock.

"You have _no _idea, Espella, trust me," Maya rolled her eyes.

While she may have just been about to be passed the mantle of being mayor, she decided to let herself have this moment of child-like delight of seeing her friends once again.

She wanted to catch up, get to know her new friends and see how everybody has been doing after all these years.

"Come in and let's catch up! You will not believe how much everything has changed in eight years."

Everyone meandered into the bakery with joyful hearts.

* * *

_Meanwhile elsewhere..._

Heavy breathing could be heard as a mysterious cloaked figure looked at multiple screens, all of them focused on Professor Layton and Phoenix's group.

The room he stood in was pitch black other from all the screens which looked to have been kept clean despite being arranged to stand on top of each other in stacks. The strange hooded figure slowly reached a skeletal hand forwards, flicking a small switch stood atop a little desktop that jutted out of the wall in front of him.

A low chuckle escaped the figures throat and smoothed the heavy atmosphere somewhat.

He tipped his black top hat with a tight smirk on his lips as he chuckled, one of the screens focusing on the Professor whilst the other one focused on the cold face of Phoenix.

He was fascinated with the thought of confusing the great professor of puzzles. He was also looking forwards to breaking the famous attorney whom relies on luck and bluffs. He wanted to see the both of them smashed from the inside out and he couldn't help but look forwards to such a sight, just thinking of it made the depths of his twisted mind turn and the shredded remnants he called a heart warm just a bit.

His twisted jungle green eyes fixed on the screen, the figure gave a dramatic swish of his cape and he tugged a bit at the ruby red ruffles that were tied around his neck. He spoke in a surprising soft voice that was toned down into mere whispers as he started to laugh darkly.

"Keheheheh...welcome back to Labyrinthia. I have waited long for you both to delight me with your presence, Phoenix Wright and Professor Hershel Layton."

After speaking those words, it was discovered that his voice was dulcet and carried a thick English accent and it was very close to actually being suave.

He watched the screens a moment longer as if to take in the scene.

The figure delicately stroked the switch that he had been yearning to click and he actually imagined seeing both the attorney and the archeologist crashing and then burning with a raging hellfire. He had a raging grudge against both of them and he hoped that he could smash their minds to shards. He knew of all of their deepest darkest secrets and he could easily crack one from the inside outward if he wished to.

"Let me show you some of what I can do, shall I?"

He smirked cruelly as he finally clicked the switch.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, guys! This has to be one of my longest chapters so far and I am happy with how it turned out; I hope you also like it. I have plenty of things planned for the future of this fic that I sincerely hope you enjoy it. ****What does our bad guy have in store for our heroes?**

**You lot are awesome!**

**Next chapter, we shall catch up on everything that has been going on in Labyrinthia...and how Espella has become the mayor.**

**I hope you guys have a lovely morning/afternoon/evening!**


	6. Chapter 2: The reunion part 4

**Disclaimer: I own NONE of the characters of Ace attorney, Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The rights to them all belong to both Capcom and Level 5 games and NOT ME!**

**Return to Labyrinthia**

* * *

Nobody had an idea how long it had been since they arrived but it felt like an eternity, that much they knew.

Time dragged on for ages and ages yet they continued to listen to the updates regarding Labyrinthia, although the suspense was killing to put it bluntly. The minutes just managed to slip away further and further into the invisible clock of time and become apart of the past.

The inside of Patty Eclaire's bakery carried in the warm and rather comfortingly inviting scent of freshly-baked bread, the group sat themselves at the table as they both indulged in freshly-baked bread that was freshly out of the oven and listened to the woman currently speaking to them.

Phoenix, Professor Layton, Trucy, Apollo, Athena, Maya, Kat and Luke all stared at the woman sat on a nearby chair as she told them of all that had changed over these long nine years.

In the midst of their conversation it came about that former-inquisitor Zacharias Barnham had proposed and then gotten married to Eve Belduke (a shock in itself), the town had prospered more than anyone could ever hope to imagine, the fire festival had been reinstated after everyone was cured from their conditions where they fainted after hearing pure silver being struck, people from the "outside world" had decided to move in after stumbling upon Labyrinthia by accident or wanting to help with the reconstruction.

Maya sighed with pure contentment as she patted her abdomen.

Her stomach swelled due to how much she had eaten. Usually her stomach was a bottomless pit and she enjoyed indulging it but, she had been stuck in a strict food regime back in the kingdom of Khura'in and hadn't been free to eat what she wanted in some time. She almost had to wonder if _this _was what people referred to as a food baby?

The Master of the channeling technique started to mumble, more than satisfied with her food quota.

"I wonder how much we've eaten today...? I mean we ate Flora's appetisers of death, then had a few snacks in London and now we're eaten the best bread that has ever been created..."

Everyone else, in the meantime, just watched as Espella processed everything in her mind.

"So let me see if I have all of this correct..."

Espella sucked in a deep breath as she recounted all she had been told.

She turned her attention to Phoenix.

"Mr Wright. You had lost your privilege as a defender for eight years and had adopted a young girl whom was the daughter of one of the people you were defending at the time as a result —only to regain your privilege after it was proven you did nothing wrong to warrant it being taken in the first place and now you are teaching two other defenders. Not only that but Maya had to go to a different country to do some studying abroad to become master of her own village."

Then Espella turned to face the Professor.

"And Mr Layton. You went through and solved lots of mysteries and cases and continued life as you knew it until Luke decided to study elsewhere for a short time, only for Luke to bring Katrielle to you as a baby and you adopted her as your own but otherwise nothing else has changed."

Espella surveyed the looks and faces of everyone in her company, Professor Layton and Phoenix in particular.

"Did I get that correct?"

Phoenix nodded, impressed that Espella's mind absorbed all that new information.

"That's the gist of it."

As everyone looked at Espella (mainly the original four —Phoenix, Professor Layton, Luke and Maya) they noticed that she had this certain maturity about her now. Not to mention she appeared to have really grown into her skin.

No longer was she that shy and timid young woman, now she was strong and confident.

"After you lot had left, we started to rebuild our town together; of course it would have taken a long time to demolish the town and rebuild it from the beginning so we just decided to add a few additional features to what was already there with the exception of the Great Archive, the Bakery, the Bell tower and some parts of the Nulwitch woods. We found that we liked the simplicity of certain aspects of Labyrinthia so we decided to not involve technology _too _much."

Luke scratched his chin thoughtfully and lifted his gaze ceiling-wards.

"Hmm." He hummed "We noticed that some things had been left unchanged when we woke up in the fields near Nulwitch woods. I also wondered why nothing in the bakery had changed in the slightest all these years..."

"Ya know, I'm glad they didn't change the bakery. It looks nice as it is!" Maya chirped.

Espella chuckled.

"Thank you! I'm sure Aunt Patty appreciates it, she was particularly adamant that the bakery stays as it is."

Phoenix and Maya glanced at each other with the smallest of grins crossing their faces. It had been several years since they worked in Patty Eclaire's bakery but nothing had changed so they weren't the slightest bit surprised to hear that the older woman refused to change a single solitary thing.

They weren't shocked to hear that their old boss _refused _to modernise the bakery, she'd probably _die _before she let them try to change it in any which way; heck, they could easily imagine it as she'd brought out her rolling pin and threaten anyone whom dared to try and convince her to update it.

It was an easy (but scary) thing to picture.

"Sometimes being mayor comes with its highs and lows and, while I was a bit reluctant at first, dad reassured me that I'm doing a good job."

Phoenix, Luke and Maya felt their jaws hit the floor while Professor Layton simply stared in astonishment at this new yet shocking revelation and, in the meantime, Kat, Apollo and Athena all wore a brand new yet unique expression that was a mix of stunned silence, astonishment, outright befuddlement and confusion.

"WAIT A COTTON PICKIN' MINUTE...!" Maya shrieked in shock. "YOU'RE THE MAYOR NOW!?"

Espella stared at them. "Wait. I didn't tell you?"

Everyone shook their heads incredulously in response to the question.

"I must have forgotten," The blonde-haired woman dressed in the crimson cloak raised a hand to her lips and giggled to herself behind it. "oops."

Phoenix, Maya, Professor Layton and Luke all just stared as if she had grown a second head. She forgot!? How could she have forgotten something so monumentally huge!? Besides, they couldn't imagine Espella Cantabella —that shy and timid eighteen-year-old girl— to be in charge of anything as she wasn't all that commanding and the townspeople were terrified of her back then!

This change from then to now was mind blowing!

Espella resumed speaking as she continued to explain to her slack-jawed companions.

"Well, actually, both daddy and myself are the acting mayors of Labyrinthia; of course we make sure to spend quality time together while we do our jobs. We, with the help of Eve, our secretary, Mr Barnham, our motorboat salesman and tour guide, also try to encourage more people to visit but, eventually the place began to become overrun with tourists so we all decided to shut ourselves off a bit but allow the door open so our people can come and go as they please."

"You stopped people from coming?" Phoenix asked, dumbfounded, "How did that work?"

"...Do you _really _want to know?" Espella asked, a rather sinister edge in her voice.

Phoenix decided that this was a sort of stupid question to ask —with Eve Belduke's scariness, and their know how for "magic"—they could pretty much do anything. After all, Espella, Eve and Espella's father were the ones who knew all the tricks behind what the group used to believe was witchcraft...well, Espella didn't know back then but she must have been educated in _all _the tricks and techniques behind them since then.

These guys made statues move, people burn, things "invisible" and managed to make the illusion of people getting sucked into books...the last of which was _never _e_xplained!_

"And what about the parades?" Maya inquired as she decided to try changing the subject.

Espella explained.

"We still hold the parades but more as a means for the townsfolk to interact with the mayor —dad or myself— and if they wish to have a private audience then all they need to do is write a letter and an appointment shall be set up."

Professor Layton voiced his approval.

"Hmm. I must say, that is a splendid method to not only get to know your people but to also get them more involved with the affairs of Labyrinthia; you lot seemed to have done brilliantly with how you've run this town. You should pat yourself on the back, Ms Cantabella."

Espella smiled a warm, gigantic smile that could have split her cheeks.

"Please, Mr Layton...I'd honestly prefer it if I just stay "Espella" as I don't want my friends to be so formal with me."

Professor Layton nodded.

"Of course, my apologies."

Patty Eclaire came up to the table there and then.

Appearance-wise she'd actually seemed to have gotten older.

Her red poofy hair had some fine yet faint gray streaks in it, her stature was not as sturdy as it used to be, her rounded and sweet face had some faint age lines and a wrinkle or two and her eyes somehow took on a gleam of experience —it was as if she'd experienced more life over these years and it reflected inside her eyes.

She wore a dark green dress with white polka dots, along with a knitted mint green cardigan with sleeves that went up to just passed her shoulders and covered her forearms to such a point that it was hard to see the sleeves at all. She wore a pair of fresh green oven mittens. A plain white apron that was covered with hints of flour and dough at the front was tied around her with in a neat and tidy bow that covered her mid back. In her hair she still wore that same old head scarf in that same old ponytail tie that she did back then.

This was the same old plump lady who seemed to have worked with her baking with such dedication that she also pummelled it into Phoenix and Maya on how to make good bread.

The Baker approached the table with a tray of baked goods in hand and gave a warm smile as she saw all the empty plates on the table; in her warm and delightful way, she proceeded to offer some more of her baked goods to the group.

"How would you lot like more bread?"

Surprisingly, the only one who piped up was a certain three-year-old little girl whom raised her hand the instant the question left the old woman's lips. She wore a _huge _smile on her adorable little face and her eyes sparkled with glee.

"Me! Me! Me, p'ease!" Chimed Kat.

"Aww. Here you go, pet."

Patty put a few small loaves down in front of Katrielle and went to go and give the others some second helpings of her delicious bread. They were little buns in the shape of croissants and they had a pair of current berries that acted as a pair of eyes and a small line of chocolate sauce that was drawn in an upwards line to make a smiley mouth and they were filled with cream; it was sort of sweet, actually.

The Professor warned his small daughter as she munched away on loaf-after-loaf of bread, perfectly content. "Be careful not to eat too much, sweetheart, you have eaten more than you normally would today and we don't want you to have a tummy ache, do we?"

Kat acknowledged her father with a nod before she continued to nom away at the bread loaf she was eating. The small girl had a voracious appetite, she always had a soft spot for desserts in particular. No matter how much the small child ate she would continuously beg for more food —her stomach was so bottomless that people could say it was bigger than Maya and Luke's stomachs combined.

Mrs Eclaire went up to Phoenix and Trucy to deposit some of her cute little breaded creations on to their plates and injected herself into the conversation.

"Why, Phoenix...how long has it been since you last made some bread?"

Phoenix felt himself start to sweat nervously as he twiddled his thumbs, trying not to shift and fidget anxiously in his seat. He kept his eyes glued to the floorboards and he could sense a sort of malevolence ooze from her sweet-as-a-nice-dessert face.

"Ummm...I-I-I haven't had the time to make much b-bread...I lost m-m-my job and was r-raising an orphaned ch-child for these eight or nine years so I was too busy..!"

Silence...

An eerie silence filled the atmosphere, stifling it.

Suddenly, Patty had an evil presence about her.

"You say you "Haven't had the time?"..."I was too busy?"..."I lost my job"...do you know what those sound like to me?"

Phoenix gulped hard, sinking lower and lower under her frightening scowl of scorn. He felt so puny right now and he felt his head duck in between his shoulders as a breath of fear hitched in his throat. He shook and quivered, unknowing that he was receiving some very odd looks from Apollo and Athena.

"Excuses!"

Phoenix shuddered as a dark sense of foreboding washed over him like a tidal wave lapping over a sandy beach shore. A large tremor rode up his spine and he felt as not only goosebumps popped up all over his body but he also felt it as sweat seeped through every pore; he recalled these feelings all too well —when he first arrived at Labyrinthia, he'd been brainwashed into believing that he'd been a baker and worked in the bakery alongside Maya for five years.

The ace attorney would always remember how sweet she was but when it comes to bread and baking, Patty Eclaire could become people's worst nightmares should you say the wrong thing. His thoughts were a as he closed his eyes and braced himself for a whack on the head by rolling pin before succumbing to the cold embrace of death:

_(So this is how I die...I guess I had a good run. I knew I should've wrote my final will and testament when I had the chance, though...)_

Apollo and Athena both side-eyed Trucy whom was staring wide-eyed before they glanced over at Maya whom simply sank in her chair with a look of petrified dread on her face while Professor Layton and Luke both looked as though they wanted the floor to swallow them up.

In the meantime, Apollo, Athena, Trucy and even Kat all looked at one another in mild confusion as to why everyone else looked so horrified — Trucy just looked confused and so did Katrielle while Apollo and Athena wondered what kind of old woman would be so terrifying that she makes their boss shrink into his seat while sweating all the hydration off his body...?

Phoenix squeaked softly in shame as he saw the rolling pin that sometimes haunted his dreams...he could never forget the terrifying battings from that thing when he or Maya would say something that would be mortally offending against bakers and bread alike.

Not to say that Patty wasn't a sweet gentle soul...she could just be downright _terrifying _with a rolling pin in hand, rage in her eyes and insults to bread ringing in her ears.

Apollo sighed dreamily as he bit into a chunk of bread and started to chew. He lay his back and reclined his back to lean comfortably on his chair whilst contentedly munching on his loaf of bread. He closed his eyes and just savoured the taste of his treat.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but this bread is _great _and is some of the best I've ever tasted!" He complimented.

Athena stared at Apollo in mock amazement and snorted.

"A compliment! Oh my gosh! That must have hurt! I mean, did you feel your soul _die_ a little after saying that?"

Apollo's face fell into a flat grumpy face as he finally swallowed his bread in one big gulp that suddenly seemed really bitter (like _lemon _bitter) as he cast a scowl as dark as the night sky to the smug redhead dressed in yellow sat across from him.

"Athena...shut up..." Apollo shot back with a sardonic scowl.

Within an instant, Apollo felt an icy cold scowl coming from nobody else but Professor Layton. His dot-like eyes narrowed into slits and his frown was the sort of frown of disapproval that a father would wear to admonish his child, it made everyone's blood run cold as the gentlemanly archaeologist wasn't a man to show his anger easily.

"Mr. Justice, a true gentleman would _never _speak to a lady like that."

Apollo didn't know Professor Hershel Layton all that well, but he _didn't _like that look on his face. He wondered whether or not briefly if this was how Mr Wright felt when that lady hovered over him threateningly...? Nevertheless, he sunk into his chair, looked down and mumbled shamefully.

"Um, errm, sorry...sorry, Athena..."

Once more, the conversation was switched.

"There has been some strange happenings as of late, though."

This immediately caught Professor Layton's interest; he sat forwards, his dot-like eyes full of intrigue and curiosity the very instant those words left Espella's lips. He didn't know why he was so keen and interested all of a sudden but he, if he had to hazard a guess, it had been a while since he had solved any mysteries since he had a child to raise. Make no mistake, he had no intention or did he mean to imply that he depreciated the fact he had a daughter now but even the mention of any kind of mystery set his blood ablaze and his heart pumping.

"Some 'strange happenings' you say?" The gentleman inquired "Would you be so kind as to clarify what you mean?"

Espella nodded.

"It all began when we first started to rebuild Labyrinthia. It was not long after you lot left and we would get reports of stolen items but not only that, every three months, we would get more reports of a figure skulking about the streets in the middle of the night —midnight on the dot— and, then, they would say how the instant the witness would catch sight of them, this person would flash a most wicked smile at them before he vanished in the blink of an eye."

Phoenix blinked in near disbelief when he heard the "vanishing" part of the story.

Professor Layton, on the other hand, just stroked his chin (or what would count as a chin on his rectangular face) whilst humming thoughtfully.

This sounded familiar but how...?

Where had they heard something like this before?

"Daddy and I were really busy to deal with this at the time so, when he had noticed a three month timeframe in this persons arrivals, we would send out a night patrol...only for items to be stolen anyway but, not only that, someone had been attacked!"

Luke almost choked on the bread he'd been munching on and gasped in alarmed horror. "Oh my! Was the victim alright?!"

Espella held up a hand to calm Luke's nerves.

"Don't worry, Luke. They ended up recovering but had no memory of how they were attacked or what they were even doing."

Luke put a hand to his chest and sighed in relief.

Espella continued the story, a concerned note appearing in her voice.

"They seemed to be in a trance when they awoke, it was rather strange and oddly familiar. But that was not the only thing that happened to this poor man, he had a card jabbed into their back too! He was covered in welts, cuts and bruises like he was used as a target with some knife-sharp objects!"

Professor Layton remained silent as he absorbed all this information and he could feel all eyes fall on him as he hummed once more in deep thought. He let his mind soak in all the information he'd just been told like a sponge and the gears started to turn as he began to have an idea as to what was going on here. His eyes opened and a smile appeared on his face as he asked Espella with a knowing glint shining like stars in those dot-like eyes of his.

"Espella. If you don't mind me asking, what sort of card was it?"

Espella stared at Professor Layton hopefully.

"It was a playing card...why?"

Professor Layton smirked at the answer and rose up from his seat, setting Katrielle off his lap and on to the table surface to avoid her falling off the edge of the seat he just stood up from and walked into the centre of the bakery to address everyone in the room; his posture was well poised and even his signature top hat shone with confidence.

"While I do not know who this strange figure is or what their ultimate goal is, I _do _believe to have an idea as to how this character is vanishing and pilfering items without anyone seeing them."

Everyone's eyes shot wide open at the declaration.

"Espella, there is something our thief and assailant could have used to take objects without being in anyone's line of sight..._but_ to both confirm my theory and to have a better understanding of figuring out our next move, I suggest we take a look at our culprits movements."

Phoenix took in the suggestion and sighed. A small hint of a smirk appeared on his lips as he closed his eyes and gave a slight shake of his head; he should have known that something like this would happen —any time he would _try _and go on holiday everything would be turned into

"Welp. It looks like our little vacation has been postponed and now has turned into an investigation. What do ya think, guys? Wanna lend a hand?"

"An investigation!? Ooooh, fun!" Maya cheered.

Trucy, Apollo and Athena all joined in.

"Sounds exciting! It's not often I get to go on investigations anymore!" Trucy cried.

"Let's do it!" Athena chirped.

"Huh. Athena's right, sounds like it could be fun!" Apollo agreed.

Within an instant, everyone shot up from their seats with revitalised energy and vigorous drive; they stood up so fast that their seats got knocked to the ground as they leapt to their feet/clumsily stood up.

Athena, Trucy and Maya sounded cheerful as they beamed and thrust their fists high into the air triumphantly and energetically while Apollo wrung his wrists anxiously but smirked at the gentleman and spiky-haired fellow lawyer. The enthusiasm and spirit shining in their eyes was obvious and it was enough to light up the fires of adventure any day!

Professor Layton smiled warmly at the overzealous group and nodded at Phoenix whom nodded right back at him and then they both winked reassuringly at Espella.

"Come now everyone! Let us go to the beginning!" The gentleman archeologist declared.

Luke smiled happily and flashed a supportive thumbs up.

"Right you are, Professor!"

Espella took to the front of the pack and proceeded to lead everyone out the bakery.

* * *

_Luke:_

_"Off we were to solve a mystery, but, little did we know was that this mystery was to be bigger than we would ever imagine..."_

* * *

**A/N:**** Here's a new chapter for you guys!**

**We have officially begun a new adventure with our heroes, and I will try and do this story right and make it good for you lot. I'm trying to make the mystery good and I think you might have guessed some of it and I'm going to incorporate some things from the deleted concepts from the original game.**

**And, I'm so happy that there's officially going to be an English dub of THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY!**

**I HAVE SOOOOO WANTED TO PLAY IT!**

**Btw, you guys are awesome!**

**-Chloemcg**


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